Evan Bartley 112533453
Name: Evan Bartley
Student No.: 112533453
Module: PH3036 - History of Philosophy
Essay Question: What is action from duty? Discuss at least one of Kant's examples in Groundwork I.
Word Count: 2,210
Date: 04/11/2014
In this essay I will outline the meaning behind Immanuel Kant's term, 'action from duty', I will show examples of his argument in favour of his beliefs on this topic and also refute some of his theories with the help of secondary sources. What is action from duty? To understand what Kant means by this we must first interpret the difference between acting in accordance with duty, and acting from duty. The difference is relatively simple should it be broken down into its components. While acting from duty, and acting in accordance with duty, the result is the same, the action itself is not in question, it is the circumstance and motivation behind it which is the deciding factor.
English: , Prussian philosopher. Português: , fil...
English: Immanuel Kant Deutsch: Immanuel Kant
English: Immanuel Kant Tomb in Koenigsberg Рус...Therefore, in acting from duty, you perform an act whatever it may be simply because it is your duty, you have no ulterior motives behind the action or any vested personal interest or inclination towards it. Conversely, while acting in accordance with duty, you perform the action but not out of a sense of duty to do so, but because of an inclination or that it gives you pleasure in some way. This is the bottom line of Kant's view on action from duty, and so far we have determined that action from duty can essentially means one of two things, to act out of a pure sense of duty, or to act out of duty with personal inclinations towards an end goal. The moral worth of an action is also important to Kant, but I will come to that later. He uses...